


Soundwaves

by J_Linz



Series: Revised To Be Original [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Music, Romance, Superpowers, Xenophilia, alien - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2018-11-29 19:52:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11447889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_Linz/pseuds/J_Linz
Summary: Alexis Farley’s job title may be secretary but she’s not the kind you’re thinking of! She’s responsible for picking cases the agents at ASHE (Agency for Super Human Enforcement) take care of on a daily basis. She answers only to the head and top agent of ASHE, Phillip Cross. Agent Cross has a secret only his top three agents, receptionist and liaison know: he’s really Uak, the Red Titan, a Saturnian alien who sought refuge on the planet Earth.Uak doesn’t want to admit that he’s falling in love with his secretary but she has a secret of her own: Alexis has a super human ability which allows her to physically see frequency waves. A mundane gift until she put it to good use, posing as L.E.X.: an electronic dance music top producer.An impromptu mugging lets Alexis meet Uak, who comes to her rescue. While Phil and herself embrace each other’s feelings for one another, Alexis believes she may feel the same for the handsome red alien, who insists on visiting her ever so often.{This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or otherwise, is unintentional and purely coincidental. 2017 July Camp NaNoWriMo project.}





	1. One

She looked at the text message in disgust, wondering what type of job would fire someone via text. The woman yearned to shrug it off, making an excuse they were unprofessional as a whole, anyway: her being fired from that job was a good thing.

_No, it’s not. I’ve been fired, period._

There was nothing she could do about it except the obvious: look for another job. She checked her bank account and sighed. She barely had enough for a month’s rent and survival on ramen noodles. Alexis stayed online and put in as many applications as she could within a ten-mile radius. The last thing she wanted to do was move back home.

The search frustrated her; no one was hiring except the underpaying fast food restaurants around town. Alexis admitted that she was picky; while she needed a job as soon as possible, the idea of flipping burgers didn’t appease to her. But, she put in her applications and went to her emails, something she hadn’t done in a while.

In a way, she was glad she did. An email dated the day before caught her attention, it pulled at her to open. Alexis eyed it strangely because it appeared to speak to her personally. An anonymous message talking about a job opportunity. No other details were included except for the address and the dates available for interviews. Alexis looked at the top corner of her desktop and nearly toppled out of her chair; she had an hour to get ready and make her way downtown. What did she have to lose? Alexis ransacked her closet for a decent outfit, printed out a mediocre copy of her résumé and headed to the location.

As she looked at the building located in the middle of the downtown area, Alexis wondered if the email was indeed too good to be true. The building itself was plain, not even a name sign adorned the brick structure. Many scenarios went through her mind but she stepped inside anyway.

_What if this is a cover up for some sex company? I don’t want to be an escort._

The thought was erased as she took in the small lobby. A security guard seated in the middle of the room gave her a smile and a nod, something that surprised Alexis. She was usually met with disdain because of her hair dye: her dark brown hair was styled in a short bob which barely covered her nape but the eye catcher was the broad streak of electric green that served as bangs. If she wore her hair as is, Alexis found herself pushing the strands away from her right eye. The older man seemed not impressed or bothered by her choice of hair color.

Before she could stumble her words out, the guard pointed towards the lone door behind him, wishing her good luck. She didn’t know what to expect when she opened the door but it wasn’t a larger lobby. Immediately on the right side of the door was a receptionist desk and even the receptionist wasn’t who she expected to see. The woman who smiled brightly at her was young, heavyset but pretty. Her strawberry blonde hair fell past her shoulders and was tucked behind her ears. Alexis studied her and figured the woman wore her hair in that way on purpose to show off her gauged ears.

“Myst?”

“What?” the lone word took Alexis off guard. She was still studying the woman who was casually dressed in a t-shirt and jeans.

“The color,” she nodded towards the streak of green. “Myst is the only product I know that pops out like that. I did a sapphire blue once it was just…” it appeared she was at a loss for words.

“Wow?”

“Right, ‘wow’. I loved it!”

“Heh: yeah, I didn’t know my color would pop out like this.”

“Myst is the best product out and it lasts quite a while. Took a year and a half before that blue started to fade.”

“That’s crazy. I just did this about a few weeks ago?”

“Yeah, it’ll be there for a while! Oh, sorry: hi, welcome to ASHE. Do you have an appointment?”

“ASHE? Um, I don’t have an appointment. I actually got this email.” Alexis took her phone out and showed the receptionist the email. Her smile widened.

“That’s great. We were hoping you would get it.”

“You were…?”

“Well, not you personally. We sent the email out to a lot of people but not too many show up for the interviews. Figured that it mostly found its way to a spam folder or something.”

“O-Oh. I don’t get many emails so… no spam folder.”

“Either way, the boss’ll be pleased to have people to interview for once.”

“The boss? The actual boss is going to interview me?”

“Of course. He does all the interviews. The only way to make sure the right person is hired. So, Ms…” she looked at her in anticipation.

“F-Farley. Alexis Farley.”

“I’ll let him know you’re here, Ms. Farley. Have a seat over there,” she pointed to the row of seats situated across the desk. Alexis nodded as she took a seat where three others waited. They looked as confused as she was but acknowledged her as she sat. The receptionist gave the four a friendly nod as she made her way across the room to a double door that was heavily guarded. The two large guards instantly moved for the woman as she disappeared into the next room. Moments later, she returned and sat at her desk with a smile. “They’ll call you soon.”

“Oh, ok. Thanks…”

“Penny. Guess I need to invest in a name placard. I’ll bring that up with the boss.” she smiled and shrugged.

Alexis didn’t know how fast or slow the time passed but she found herself the only one left in the lobby as she idly scrolled through her phone. The door leading from the security lobby swung open and she caught sight of the largest man she’d ever seen. He barely fit through the door height-wise but was as big around as he was tall. He glared at Penny although she kept her smile.

“Cross in?” he asked before she had a chance to open her mouth. Alexis had to give it to Penny; had it been **her** sitting there, she would’ve been shaking. But Penny continued to smile at the man, unaffected.

“I’m not at liberty to say so you’ll have to wai­–” Penny stopped in mid-sentence as the man grumbled and walked towards the guarded doors. “Sir, you can’t go through those doors.” She warned and jumped out her seat to follow the man. Alexis’s heart pounded: the guy meant business. She didn’t believe that the two guards would be a match for him unless they were armed. Alexis readied her phone to dial 911.

“Watch me!” the guy threatened. He was halfway to his destination when Alexis witnessed something she would never thought she’d see in a million years. The man suddenly grunted as he stopped in mid-stride and groaned as he was forced to the ground awkwardly. Alexis’s eyes widened when she saw who was responsible: Penny had her hand out, keeping the man in place with an invisible force.

She knew super humans were a part of everyday life. Larger cities were used to having them handle the major threats but Alexis only heard about them. She considered herself lucky to never encounter them face-to-face… until that moment. She sat frozen as Penny slowly closed her hand and the man screamed.

“Now, what did I say you weren’t allowed to do?”

“G-G-Go t-t-through t-t-those… d-d-doors…” he struggled. Penny took her other arm and waved it towards the seats, the gesture forced his body to walk in the direction. When he was close enough for Alexis to see the fear in his eyes, Penny pushed her hand down gently but the man crashed to the floor with another yell.

“Oh, you don’t get the luxury of a seat, today. When I say, you have to wait, you have to wait. So, guess what we’re doing?”

“W-W-Waiting.”

“You learn so quickly; good boy!”

“Penny!” a woman came through the other doors. The only thing not normal about the woman was her choice of hair color: a glossy midnight purple with streaks of silver. Even where Alexis sat, she saw that silver made the woman’s hair shine. The holster that the woman in black wore didn’t go unnoticed.

_This isn’t going to end well…_

“What? I’m just teaching this guy some manners.” Penny retaliated without looking at the other woman.

“In front of _her_?” her hazel eyes swept over Alexis but glared back at Penny.

“Lexi? She’s cool.” Penny shrugged and Alexis blushed at her new nickname.

“You’re scaring her. Release him…” the other woman fussed and Penny hesitated. “Do I need to get Angel in here… again?” she warned and with that, Penny released her hold on the man. He crumbled to the ground with a last grunt and the woman in black shook her head at the scene. She sighed heavily but looked at Alexis. “Alexis Farley, I assume.”

“Y-Yes.”

“Follow me.” she turned to the doors. Alexis put her phone away and got up. She couldn’t help but to stare at the disheveled man who hadn’t moved from the floor. Only a few moments ago, he was raging like a runaway truck. Alexis shot a look at Penny, who opened her mouth.

“That… was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.” Alexis breathed out before Penny could say anything.

“Thanks! It was nothing, really. See, Rainy: I told you Lexi was cool. Make sure Cross hires her!”

“For the love of– stop calling me that!”


	2. Two

Alexis had to double her strides to keep up with “Rainy” who walked in an agitated but brisk state. Alexis looked around the new room in shock because there was no type of order. Desks and cubicles were scattered throughout and people in business casual wear were busy doing whatever they needed to do. A massive digital board took up the majority of the right-side wall where a map of the world displayed. The dots which crowded the regions peaked Alexis’s curiosity, particularly the colors: most were red but there were flecks of blue that stood out amongst them.

The only other thing noticeable in the room were the elevator doors on the adjacent wall. As busy as the area appeared, no one came near those doors and Alexis wondered why. Outside, the building seemed to have at least two more floors.

_Does everyone work on this floor? Then, what are the other two floors for…? This place is weird._

Alexis put her attention to the woman in front of her. Although the woman’s heeled boots gave her a few inches on Alexis, she assumed the two were the same height. She was lean but by the way she walked, Alexis figured she would find toned muscles beneath the black jacket. However, anyone’s attention would focus on the brilliant shine of hair. Alexis watched as the woman’s own short bob bounced with every confident step she took.

The woman stopped at a thick door that led to a small conference room with an equally thick glass pane. She opened the door and gestured for Alexis to walk in.

“Do you know what you’re applying for?”

“I… uh, no ma’am.” Alexis refrained from adding that she had no idea what the company did. But, the other woman winced at her words and gave her a small glare.

“God, don’t do that. I’m not **that** old! Do I look that old to you?”

“O-O-Oh, um, no.”

“Good. Seeing that you have no idea, you must’ve received that email. There are four levels of employment here: janitorial, liaison, secretary and agent. The cleaning crews are contractors and agents usually receive a personal inquiry so you’ll most likely b–” she was cut short by quick beeps that came from her hip. “Rainy” groaned and glared at her pager. “Looks like I have to take care of this. Hang tight, this shouldn’t take too long.” She grumbled and left in a blur.

Alexis watched the woman in astonishment as she made a beeline to the elevators. Alexis was about to take a seat until she noticed a few employees staring at her. Her brow crinkled when she gave them her full attention but they quickly made themselves busy doing whatever they were busy with before she arrived.

She shrugged it off and took a seat, seeing that it was useless to stand and stare at the bare walls. She mulled over the four positions available at this company, ASHE. Aside from the fact that there were possibly two super humans working for the company, it was the only thing she knew. Alexis reasoned that whoever the “Angel” person mentioned would be one, seeing that “Rainy” threatened Penny to retrieve them. One thing was for sure: the company had no problem with dyed hair.

Alexis’s thoughts were interrupted as she watched a lovely Japanese woman approach the room. She tilted her head to the side, considering Alexis for a moment before she entered the room. Being closer, Alexis saw that she only had a few Asian traits but everything else about her screamed red-blooded American. Her blonde hair flowed in lovely curls past and over her shoulders, which put one’s attention to her cleavage.

_Yeeah… she doesn’t need the hair to do that!_

The woman’s cream-colored blouse couldn’t hide her busty frame even if it tried. Alexis stopped herself from looking down at her chest and folded her arms across her breasts instead. The move made the shorter woman smirk.

“I know, I know; I have enough boobs to cover every flat-chested woman this side of the states!”

“Uh–”

“Listen, could you give this to Agent Cross? It’s almost my lunch break and if I don’t leave now, I’ll never eat.” the woman rushed and plopped a beige folder on the table.

“But… wait–”

“He needs that right away. Appreciate that.” She gave a wink and hurried off. Alexis stared out the pane for a moment, debating on whether she should track the woman down. She turned her attention back to the folder and wondered how she would get it to whoever Agent Cross was.

_Cross… shit, that’s the big boss!_

Alexis groaned as she bit her bottom lip. What was she supposed to do? She looked back out the pane to see if “Rainy” was on her way back but no such luck. Alexis continued to worry her lip as she tapped her fingers nervously on the folder. Whatever was in that file, the boss needed right away.

_I could just open it and see._

Not thinking twice, she did so and her eyes widened at the contents. A pink and menacing alien was pictured, flashing three rows of razor sharp teeth. Below its picture was some info but the only one Alexis paid attention to was: “Threat Level- 4C”. She skimmed over the rest and found while she couldn’t pronounce the name for the life of her, its last destination was only a few miles away from the downtown area.

That note made her bolt from the seat and grab the file. She definitely needed to find Agent Cross and figured that maybe if she asked around, it would make her life easier. Alexis searched the cornucopia of desks and decided to ask those who didn’t make it so obvious they were watching her every move.

She turned to her left, still eyeing the ones who darted their own away from her and bumped into something. Someone, she corrected herself as she stopped her mouth from flying open. The sight of the man who looked at her with warm, brown eyes was nearly enough to make her heart flutter.

_Jesus Christ on a stick, **please** be Agent Cross!_

Alexis soaked him in, careful not to give out an approving smile. He was taller than her by far which made Alexis look up slightly to admire his eyes. Although he was wearing business casual wear, she noticed he was very fit as his rolled-up sleeves showed muscular forearms. The man’s full lips curled into a smile and Alexis stopped herself from buckling.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah. I mean, yes. I’m fine. Do you… you wouldn’t happen to know where Agent Cross is, do you?”

“Oh. As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Ah, that’s great. Would it be too much for you to point me in his direction?”

“Not at all. He’s right in front of you.” The man smiled more as Alexis blushed hard. She soaked him in more and swallowed her naughty thoughts away. Appearance-wise, he was everything she ever looked for in a man: gorgeous, tall, muscular and with an award-winning smile.

“O-O-Oh. I’m to… give this to you, then.” She tried to still her shaking hand as she handed him the folder. Cross took the folder but put his attention to the blushing woman in front of him.

“You don’t work here, do you? What department are you from?”

“Hopefully the department that gives you these files, sir.” She wanted to smack herself for the coyness she allowed but Alexis didn’t know how else to answer his question, save telling the truth. When he fought laughter, she blushed even more. A sigh of relief almost escaped as Alexis watch him open the folder. Cross bit his own bottom lip slightly as he looked it over, which made the naughty thoughts run rampant in Alexis’s head.

_Dear God, I want to bite your lips like that…_

More warmth rushed to her cheeks when he gave her a look and she stopped staring at his lips.

_F-Fuck, did he… no way he heard my thoughts!_

Phillip Cross studied her as she nervously awaited his response. He kept his true reactions at bay: he actually did read her thoughts. He wondered what would make a human want to bite another’s lips but told himself he would ask about it later. He wanted to dwell on her attractiveness but decided the contents of the folder required more of his attention.

Phil tried to hide his smirk but failed. The woman impressed him already, being the only one who had the audacity to pretend she wasn’t bewildered with the file simply dumped in her lap. Had he been normal, her act would’ve fooled him.

A movement caught his attention and Phil looked past her. One of his top agents, Lorraine, stood beside his liaison, Angelica: the woman in black gawked at the scene while the blonde grinned mischievously. He cleared his throat and looked back at the woman in front of him.

“What’s your name?” he asked although he already knew. But Phil didn’t want to make Alexis more nervous by revealing that he had mind-reading abilities. He liked the sound of her voice even though the real excuse could be he found her attractive.

“Alexis Farley.” She tried her best to not put doubt in her voice.

“Alexis– can I call you Alexis?”

“O-Oh. Y-Yes, sir.” Her blush returned as Phil continued to smile at her.

“Alexis, what do you suggest we do about this threat?”

“Suggest?” her eyes widened slightly and Phil nodded.

“Yes,” he handed the folder back to the woman. “How should we handle this?” he asked. Phil glanced at Lorraine and Angelica, both were eager for her response. Lorraine had a need to rescue the poor girl but Angelica grabbed her arm, making her stay put.

Alexis took the folder and looked over the contents once more, no clue on what to make of it. The threat level assigned to the creature confused and awed her all the same. She knew that in some cases, the lower the number or letter, the bigger the threat or situation. But, to have **both**? It truly stumped her.

Alexis took in the calmness from Phil and the others watching her as she handed the file back to him.

“My suggestion would be to send someone to keep tabs on this one. It doesn’t appear that they’re a true threat but if provoked… they could be.” She answered with all the confidence she could muster. Phil tilted his head to the side as he took in her response.

“Why?”

“I mean, there’s no infractions listed. Just a last known destination. So, only surveillance should be fine for now.” She answered. It would’ve made Alexis feel much better if her response was met with murmurs or gasps. The silence unnerved her as Phil gave her a long look before looking through the file. He broke the silence with a laugh and Alexis didn’t know how to take his reaction. Clapping and a squeal was heard and Alexis turned to its direction: the Japanese woman who gave her the file was all smiles while “Rainy” had a look of relief with a smirk.

“That was really good,” Phil’s deep voice grabbed her attention once more. “You have a lot of confidence, I’ll give you that. As well as a bit of insight, which is a really good thing. I’ll let Stan know that he’s not a ‘true threat’; he’ll be happy with that bit of news.” He continued to laugh. Despite everyone else laughing along, Alexis gave him a confused stare.

“I’m sorry?”

“No, I’m the one who should apologize. This–” he lifted the folder and placed it on a nearby desk. “–was a test. We knew no one would have a clue on what the things inside it meant. They’re actually gibberish. But no other candidate went as far as you did. You faked it and did a wonderful job doing so.”

“I was right?”

“For the most part, yes.”

“Oh. So… what would’ve happened if I was wrong?” Alexis wanted to know. The look he gave Alexis melted her all over again.

_Jesus, I bet he has a ton of women needing to change their panties with that look! I’m going to need to after this._

Phil smiled as he gave her a shrug, analyzing her latest thought.

“I think… I would’ve hired you, anyway. Now, looks like we need to get your training started. Shouldn’t be too hard, with your insight.”

“W-Wait… I’m hired…?” her eyebrows rose and Phil laughed heartily.

“Yes! Lorraine will show you where to go.” He nodded towards Lorraine who finally moved and escorted the still confused woman to the elevators. Phil kept his eye on his new employee as two of his agents joined him.

“She’s the new secretary, then?” while not as tall as Phil, Ivan was taller than his partner. Still distracted, Phil nodded. Ivan took note and smiled widely. “A lovely thing, isn’t she?”

“She… needs to change her panties? Is that normal? And… is it common for someone to want to bite another’s lips…?”

“Whoa… were those her thoughts?” Tyler’s green eyes brightened.

“You have to stop going through people’s minds like that.” Ivan shook his head but Phil continued to dwell on Alexis’s inner thoughts.

“Mmm… I sense some long nights ahead, then. Call me if you need any… help.” Tyler winked at Phil but Ivan rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, never mind that your husband is right here, listening.”

“Oh, baby, you can join in! The more, the merrier,” Tyler tried to hug Ivan but he scoffed and walked away. “Oh, come on: I was kidding!” he followed, leaving Phil to stare after them.

“But, wait… is that a good thing, then…?”


	3. Three

She found it weird that Lorraine said nothing as they boarded the elevator. Alexis shifted her weight from foot to foot nervously. There was nothing in the elevator to study and she simply swallowed her pride.

“So… what’s my training going to be like?” Alexis looked at Lorraine. The woman lifted an eyebrow but shrugged, which made Alexis gawk for a moment. “What do you mean, you don–”

“I’m an agent, not secretary. I could tell you in hefty details if you were going to be an agent: I’m training Angel right now, unfortunately.”

“Unfortunately?”

“It’s nothing against her. I just hate training people, period. But, Cross is set on making my life a living hell!” she rolled her eyes and Alexis smirked.

“He didn’t seem too bad…”

“You’ll be singing a different song in a week, trust me. Wanting him to bend you across a desk will be the furthest thing from your mind come next Wednesday!” she smirked and Alexis immediately blushed.

_Is it **that** obvious…?_

“S-Speaking from experience?” she tried to take the attention away from herself but widened her eyes when Lorraine shrugged.

“All of us thought the same when we first started. He’s absolutely gorgeous… but he’s strictly business.”

“So… he’s a hard ass?”

“Absolutely. You know, the more I think about it, the more I feel sorry for you.” The woman shrugged as the elevator stopped on their designated floor. Alexis looked on in astonishment as a massive library spread out in front of her.

“Um… I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do.” She wondered aloud. Lorraine turned and smirked at the woman before putting her attention back to the library.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Have a seat anywhere. Your trainer should be here in a moment.”

“Wait, you’re not staying?”

“Uh, no. My specialty is agent and besides, I have to catch Angel before she really does go to lunch. Anyway: welcome to the team. I hope you last longer than the last secretary.”

“How long did they last?”

“A week, I think? I was on vacation so I only heard hearsay. I think you’ll last a bit longer, though.” Lorraine nodded before she headed back to the elevators. Alexis sighed as she looked around, wondering who her trainer would be and what her training would consist of. The sound of the elevator opening once more caught her attention and she turned to it, only to blush heavily as Phil gave her a smile.

_How can anyone who smiles like that be a hard ass?_

“O-Oh. Agent Cross… sir. Uh, my trainer isn’t here, yet.”

“I’m pretty sure he is.”

“O-O-Oh, you’re my trainer…”

“You don’t sound pleased about it.” Instead of sitting down, Phil made his way through the labyrinth of bookcases. Alexis’s feet kept her planted in her spot as she gawked.

“What? N-No, it’s not that! I’m glad that you’re going to train me. I mean,” _fuck…_ “You… isn’t this… beneath you?”

“The opposite, actually. I’m the most qualified to train a secretary.” His deep voice echoed throughout the room and Alexis smirked, the innuendo not going over her head. It made her realize that she may not be **that** type of secretary and gave Phil a puzzled look as he made his way back, carrying a few books.

“I hate to sound unappreciative but… if you can train a secretary, why did you need to hire one?”

“You know, that’s a great question. I don’t want to make it seem that I’m lazy. I _could_ do the secretary’s job. But, I’m an agent first and foremost. You… have no idea what you’ll be doing, do you?”

“A little, after that trick you guys pulled.”

“Hmm. You’re the first to call it a trick. I suppose a formal introduction is in order, then. Welcome to ASHE, Alexis Farley.”

“I sense that’s an acronym.” She finally sat at a nearby table and Phil did the same.

“It stands for Agency for Super Human Enforcement. We’re a top-secret agency that deals with super humans, formed to pacify the governments all over the world. We monitor all super human activity on the planet, well, all super humans, really. Anyone with an ability has to register with the agency.”

“So… you keep an eye on them?”

“Yes and no. Those who show the potential to seriously harm, yes. But, their mental capacity is tracked as well. We get cases and calls by the hundreds on a daily basis. Your job will be to weed out the low risk ones and bring to my attention the high-risk ones. The low risk super human activity, you can assign to any agent but the others? They’re handled by only myself and three other agents. You’ve already met one.”

“Lorraine?” she asked and Phil nodded.

“She has a no-nonsense approach that makes her the best agent I have. Her husbands are very close behind…”

“H-Husbands? Plural?” Alexis’ eyes widened and Phil laughed heartily.

“Yes. They don’t let the fact that they’re married get in the way of sound decisions out in the field, the reason why they’re my top agents. Angelica shows a lot of potential. Oh, you’ve probably heard her referred to as Angel. But, I’m hoping she will be another agent, soon. Especially since I’ve hired you: there’s no need for a liaison position.”

“Oh. Sounds like I’m going to be pretty busy.”

“Busy, yes. Overwhelmed? Hopefully not. By the way, you’re not a super human, are you?” he simply stared at her and Alexis tried her best not to show any emotion in her face.

The truth: she did have a super human ability. She thought nothing of it for all the years she’d known because Alexis couldn’t think of how it would affect anything, at first. She didn’t know why it happened but Alexis could physically see frequency waves. It happened randomly but she was only able to see the beginning of the pattern before she blacked out. Alexis had no idea what triggered it and was afraid that she would do something to harm herself or others in public, especially seeing that she had no control over the “power”.

The sensation only happened in public once and it was then she realized she posed no threat to anyone. A trip to the music store with a friend, Alexis sat and idly played a chord on a piano. She thought nothing of it until the waves scanned in front of her and when she came to, she was greeted with an applause from a crowd. Everyone wanted to know what exactly did she play, even her friend. Alexis learned that, although she never had a piano lesson, let alone any type of musical lesson, she sat there and composed a wonderful piece before everyone’s eyes… and she remembered none of it.

“No,” she decided that she didn’t want to let Phil know she was technically a super human. Her abilities were mundane at the most. Plus, she wasn’t too keen on having to register as a super human with this agency. “Are you?” Alexis found herself smirking. She was glad when Phil returned the gesture with a little laugh.

“I have nothing against super humans working for me. Penny and Angel are. But, no: I’m not.” He saw that she was about to point out he dodged her question. He felt good that he didn’t lie: aliens were technically not super humans.

He knew that there was something she didn’t want to tell him but decided not to go through her mind to figure it out. Even if he did, if she chose not to dwell on what she hid, Phil could do nothing about it. He wasn’t able to see anyone’s super human ability.

Before Phil could start on her training, the elevator door opened and both looked towards it. Penny was all smiles and approached the two.

“Okay… well, kinda not good that you’re with her but not bad, either.”

“Something wrong, Penny?”

“Not really. Just didn’t want you here when I invited Lexi out to Lance’s. Then again, once you saw her there, you would’ve known.”

“Wait. You’re inviting… me to–”

“Yep! You’re a part of the team, now so it’s only right. We all hang out there after work. You’ll get to meet the whole crew.” She smiled at the woman. Alexis smiled back but looked at Phil who gave Penny a smirk.

“How did you know that Alexis was hired?”

“Angel told me. Plus, I knew you would hire her. You had to.”

“I _had_ to…?”

“She fits in with us! Anyway: it’s the bar two buildings down. See you there!” Penny waved and left. Alexis switched glances from Penny to Phil and blushed as he gave her another smile.

“Welcome to the team.”

 

Alexis nervously opened the door to the moderate bar and flinched as music filled her ears.

_This was a bad idea. I should’ve said no. I should’ve… hey, nothing’s happened._

She scanned the area for her new coworkers and found them scattered about. Angel and Lorraine hogged the digital jukebox in the corner, Penny and a tall blond man played pool on the other side of the room and Phil sat at the bar as a handsome green-eyed man spoke to him in a lively manner.

Tyler stopped in mid-sentence as he put his attention towards the entrance. “Well, hello there, nurse…”

“Penny invited her.” As much as he wanted to look, Phil trained himself to pay more attention to the drink in front of him: a scotch Tyler recommended that Phil knew would have zero effect on himself. To give the man credit, it did have a nice taste to it.

“Your telepathy makes things… not fun, you know?”

 “It boggles me how much attention you’re paying to her when you have Ivan and Lorraine.”

“I only do it to tease you. She’s really pretty but I have enough trouble managing a husband _and_ wife: let’s not throw a girlfriend in the mix!”

“Tease me? About what?” Phil’s eyebrows lifted at Tyler in amusement and the brunette laughed into his own glass of scotch.

“We love it when you’re clueless! There’s an attraction between the two of you. With your senses, I’m shocked you can’t smell it!” he smiled widely and Phil looked down at his drink.

“Just… lavender, coconut and passionfruit. Is… is it wrong that I want her to sit by me so I can continue to smell that…?”

“Seeing that you could smell that from all the way across the room? Yeah, that’s bad. Oh, our alien has a crush: hey, babe!” Tyler shot from his seat and made his way to the pool tables.

 

Alexis had to admit that she was having a good time with her new coworkers, getting to know each of them better. However, she found herself a bit nervous as Angelica sat across from her at a table. It wasn’t the fact that no one would come near the two that made Alexis nervous but the hard stare she gave. After a grueling moment, she gave out a small hum before taking a sip of her margarita.

“Is that a good or bad ‘hmm’?”

“I’m not sure. Did anyone tell you my ability?”

“No…”

“I can sense someone else’s, if it’s powerful enough, and nullify it.”

“Oh. **That’s** why Rainy said she would call you to calm Penny down.”

“Yep. And she’s gonna kill you for calling her that!” the women giggled together.

“So… did Agent Cross ask you to do th–”

“Listen to you: ‘Agent Cross’! Outside of work, it’s Phil. It’s part of my job to, well, _sniff_ any new hires out, just in case they want to lie about being a super human. I thought I felt something with you but it was faint.”

“O-O-Oh. What does that mean, then?”

“Either your powers are dormant or you’re really not a super human and I’ve had too many of these,” Angelica lifted her glass and took another sip. “You were probably standing by someone who was, which is why it was faint. I don’t care, either way. To be honest, if you were dangerous… there would be no hiding it from me. I remembered when Penny tried to hide it: hilarious!”

“She’s dangerous?”

“Come on. You saw it for yourself.”

“Okay, yeah. You’re right.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I know she’d never use her powers for that reason. But the possibility that she could is the sole reason why ASHE was created: to keep tabs on those who would.” Angelica explained. Alexis nodded and finished the rest of her beer. She didn’t know if she liked or hated the fact her power was too weak for the other woman to detect fully. She figured that one day, she would tell someone about them: perhaps when she became more comfortable with the others.

Her attention went to Penny, who was fast approaching the table. Without a word, Penny pulled Alexis up from her chair.

“Now that Angel’s done with ya: you’re up on the pool table! I’ll get ya another beer.” She pushed the woman towards the tables while she made her way to the bar. Alexis blushed when she saw who was waiting for her: Phil. He gave her another gorgeous smile as he handed her a pool stick.

“If you don’t know how to play…”

“W-W-What? Oh… pool. Um… yeah, I… dabble.”

“Dabble as in you know the basics or maybe I should be the one to break because that will be the only turn I get?”

“Oh… you found me out: my ability is that I’m outstanding in games,” she smirked as she chalked her pool stick. Phil eyed her for a moment and Alexis burst into laughter. “Sorry! That was a joke: I suck at pool!” she was glad that he laughed along with her and racked the balls.

“Hmm… we shall see…”


End file.
